Survival on Samhain
by bleeb90
Summary: 31 October, 1981. A story about Harry surviving the killing curse, and how Voldemort looses his body.


It was the terrarium in their living room, filled with clabberts, that gave the enemy away. When the said terrarium looked like Christmas had come early that year, red pimples screaming danger glowing everywhere, they instantly knew something was terribly wrong. They also knew it was already too late – not a single of their security and alarm charms had worked, obviously already carefully taken care of by the enemy. But they would not give up, it was not in their nature to do so. They were typical Gryffindors, brave to a fault.

James told his wife to grab their son and run, in the hope it would give them enough time to get somewhere safe while he would try to fight him off. Sadly, the sheer panic made them forget the vast amount of impenetrable anti-apperation wards they had cast themselves. Wards that could not be undone in a matter of seconds. It didn't take her long to realize they were trapped like rats on a sinking ship. She understood that her husband would die in vain, trying to protect her and their son, only to be reunited for eternity in a matter of minutes. She didn't have to be a seer to know that her family was but minutes away from their early demise.

While holding her son, the young mother could only listen in terror to the complete lack of a fight. She heard the front door being blasted away while her husband was still searching for his wand, followed by a brutally cold voice clearly pronouncing the two infamous words that were known to always be fatal. As expected, those appalling words were followed by a muffled falling sound. Trembling she held her son even closer, crying silent tears. She knew there was nowhere to hide, and she knew this would be the end. While she heard him walking up the stairs she began to mutter softly.

"Not my Harry, not my son. He is too young, he still has a life ahead of him. Not my Harry, I don't care about myself, but not my son..."

When the awful foe had finally reached the nursery, the desperate mother had already laid her child back into the crib while standing defiantly in front of it, symbolically shielding her son with her body. With her back straight and her chin high she faced that vile, cruel man whom had murdered her husband only seconds ago. The trembling had stopped as she felt a calm resignation to her premature death. It was the purest emotion a mother can feel that had led her to this act of desperation. The words she spoke were loud and clear, without fear. She didn't plead, rather demand.

"Kill me instead of my son. Kill me, but let my son live."

The man smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and nodded, as if he agreed. Little did he know that his nod had called forth a powerful and ancient magic. Unknowingly she strengthened it, the magic they did not know they had invoked, by making clear she would not fight. She would go down without a fight if it meant that he would spare her son. She didn't recognize the strange feeling that flooded her as unadulterated magic, for all she could think about was the trade they just made. A life for a life.

The villain proceeded by unleashing his magic on the young mother. With a silent flick of his wand he trashed her against the wall as if she were a ragdoll. He bathed in the twisted pleasure of torturing her, for he enjoyed her terror. In so far the ancient magic did not complain; both ends of the bargain were kept. She made no work of defending herself, and he gave her his undivided attention, ignoring the child.

While she laid on the floor, gasping, catching her breath, he knelt by her head. Noses almost touching he looked into her eyes. He enjoyed looking into his victims eyes, as a legilimens he could enjoy every thought of their despair. Yes, he thoroughly enjoyed their helplessness. Still looking into her eyes he spoke with the same brutally cold voice he had used to murder her husband.

"You filthy mudblood. You are an abomination! You should _never_ have been born. And most certainly, you shouldn't have been whoring, using your talents to wriggle yourself into a once respectable pureblood line like the Potter's. I've already released your husband, the poor bloke, out of his misery – his name was doomed for ever since he associated with the likes of you – and you shall be next. But not after you have felt the pain of your son dying. You shall see the result of your whoring be put to an end. _Then_ I shall deliver you what you always should have had – death."

The young mother whimpered. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She had hoped he would have had the honor to at least hold his end to such a deal. It had been her only hope. Her life in stead of Harry's. A fair deal. Tears of despair were streaming out of her eyes while she looked at the man who had her at his mercy. The malicious smile on his face became wider while he chuckled softly.

"Not only a mudblood, but an imbecile as well... I thought it was quite clear that Lord Voldemort does not grant any requests to insignificant mudbloods like you. You mudbloods make me sick! How can you even think I would make 'a fair deal' with those who aren't worthy of kissing my boots? Scrap that! Could this be even more ridiculous? Yes, an 'honesty' thing, the same failure in logic Dumbledore seems to suffer from?"

With another flick of his wand he dragged the whimpering, crying mother-turned-ragdoll into a sitting position.

"But Lord Voldemort even has mercy for the likes of a filthy mudblood like you. You may hold your product of whoring while I kill it."

He levitated the clueless baby into the arms of his mother, the woman whom he would break soon. Grinning like the true maniac he was he lifted his wand.

"Avada Kedavra."

…

Lily sobbed inconsolably, clutching her child close while trying to figure out what happened. The deranged lunatic had fired the killing curse, which had found it's target. But her precious child was still alive. And for some unfathomable reason, Voldemort's body was on the floor. It was the body of supposedly the darkest, vilest, most malicious wizard to roam across Europe for the last three centuries, and it laid on her nursery floor – unmoving. Happy as she was that it was Voldemort rather than Harry laying there, on the floor, she had severe trouble comprehending what just had happened. What was it which had left Voldemort's body the minute the curse rebounded? And whatever it was, why did a bit of it enter Harry's rebound-wound?

Clinging onto her child for dear life she shakily stood up and left the nursery. Walking down the stairs she saw James, her husband laying on the floor. She sobbed even louder when the reality of being a widow hit her hard. But she had to get her child to the hospital. She did not know what the consequences could be from surviving such curse... But she could not possibly travel by floo at the moment. Merlin knew where she and Harry might end up if she sobbed her destiny in stead of clearly pronouncing it. She passed her deceased husband and walked closer to the hole in the wall where not too long ago her front door had been.

Walking into the dark and chilly night she could feel how she crossed all the strong wards that she and James had erected together. Stepping past the last one she knew she could use all communication and travel magic freely without the nasty consequences she and James had came up with. She repositioned Harry on her hip so she could reach her wand. With a graceful wave of her wand she conjured the doe-patronus that was personal, like a signature. The only way of sending a message that could not possibly be intercepted. Gasping between her sobs she only managed to let it carry one word to it's destiny.

"Mungo's."

And that's where she apparated. Arriving there, she still couldn't manage to stop her crying and tell them what exactly was wrong so she walked straight up to the Auror on duty before she gasped another word.

"Pensive."

The distraught auror _(Merlin's socks, what in the name of all that's precious is Lily Potter doing here with her kid, in stead of hiding in the home that should have been secured by a fidelus charm?)_ nodded quickly, and conjured little bottles for her to place the memories in she could not manage to speak through her sobs.

By the time Lily was done giving her memories she was put into a chair by a healer, and got a very strong calming draught shoved into her hands. Recognizing it for what it was Lily did not hesitate to drink it all at once. The potion took it's effect immediately. Both the healer and auror were looking at her with anticipation; after taking a deep breath she began to speak rapidly with a voice broken from crying and screaming earlier, while being subjected to Voldemort's cruciatus curse.

"I need someone to look after Harry, he was hit by the killing curse and he survived. As far as I can tell, he only has a nasty gash on his forehead. Oh Merlin, please don't let it have any after effects... I need medicine against the lasting effects from a cruciatus curse – I've been hit multiple times. I do not know for how long, maybe the pensive will make that clear for you. One of the memories I have given you is how Peter Pettigrew has been made our secret keeper, so for the love of Circe, please do not arrest Sirius Black when he comes here – I have sent him a patronus to meet me here."

Lily hadn't closed her mouth yet and there was Sirius, looking very agitated because he hadn't missed the sob in her broken voice when she asked Sirius to come to st Mungo's. Striding into the hall, away from the apparation area, he looked Harry. Unable to miss the big bleeding gap on his godson's forehead he cursed loudly. Approaching Lily he saw her tear stained cheeks, and her eyes red from crying, and pupils obviously dilated from a calming draught. He looked at her urgently, seeing that one person was missing.

"James?"

Lily closed her tear stained eyes and shook her head, silently confirming what he feared.

"Sirius, you were wrong. It wasn't Remus. It never was Remus, we should have known, he is as gentle as they come. It was Peter. Peter was the rat. Voldemort came personally, James didn't stand a chance."

She took a deep breath.

"I do not know how or why it happened, but Voldemort's killing curse rebounded on Harry. But the how and the why shall have to wait; I have other priorities right now. Sirius, I implore you, please give your memories about the marauders' monthly escapades. Please give your memories about Peter's second form so they can find him even if he hides in the sewers. This is why they register."

Sirius had trouble to react, he could only stare at Lily. He was completely speechless.

"Sirius, please give your memories about how we decided whom should be our secret keeper, that it wasn't you. I won't have you go to Azkaban because of things we didn't tell for it was essential that no one knew. That does not matter anymore. What matters is that I will have to organize a funeral, and I don't want it crashed by Peter, and I most certainly do not want you and Remus fighting at my husband's grave."

She paused.

"Oh, and Sirius, would you like to go inform Albus that Voldemort has lost his body?"

Lily looked at the baffled auror standing next to them while Sirius was already extracting the memories that were just as vital as Lily thought them to be. Gaining eye contact with the auror, she spoke once more.

"You. My home isn't exactly as secret as it should be anymore. When you walk in, pass my husband's body and walk up the stairs, second door on the left you find yourself in Harry's nursery. There your team will find Voldemort's body. I trust your superiors will know what to do."

Lily looked at the healer.

"Both Harry and I have been hit by unforgivable curses, could you please escort us to the right ward?"

…

The next month went by in a very chaotic fashion. Lily had to fend off reporters like flies, they were all too eager to find out _what_ exactly happened, and _how_ a one year old infant could possibly survive a killing curse. She had to move to another estate because her family home lacked a rather essential part, namely the front door. She had to organize her husband's funeral and deal with lawyers regarding his will. She also had to send those very lawyers off to take measures against the company that produced chocolate frogs, for they thought it would be nice to put her son on a card – ridiculous!

While juggling all that, drinking calming draughts one after another she also had managed to find time in order to squeeze Albus Dumbledore like a lemon in order to get him to spit out the obscure information he was deliberately hiding about her son, Harry. Without all those calming draughts she would not have been able to pull it off, that was for sure.

On the bright side she did manage to get Remus and Sirius onto speaking terms with each other again, albeit with the pain of an earlier complete and utter lack of trust because one happened to be the werewolf, and the other happened to be the spawn of a family that prided itself in their knowledge of the Dark Arts. It pained Lily to see that James' best friends couldn't bear to look each other in the eye. So she did what she was best at: invite the both of them over for diner so they were compelled to interact with each other.

The first time after James' death that she could genuinely smile again was when the two began to fall back in their old familiar banter: the friendly jabs that James would have loved to join in on. Now they were back on track Lily knew they were finally ready to discuss the topic that had been weighing on her mind. She called her house elf to clear the dining table, and to get them three glasses with a particularly good bottle of fire whiskey. The bottle James never could bring himself to open.

When the table was cleared and the spirits arrived, both men looked questioningly at her, wondering what could possibly be wrong for her to pull open a bottle like that. Lily lifted an eyebrow.

"James loved this brand of scotch, and he saved this 30 year old single cask for a special occasion. He didn't get to drink it, because he was saving it for something special. This bottle _will_ _not_ catch dust any more longer. We will drink it in his memory because we are – painful as it is – moving on and you are finally on speaking terms again. I'll be damned if this bottle stays unopened while we are about to discuss my son's future."

Both Sirius and Remus – dog animagus and werewolf respectively – had keen instincts and recognized both her tone, sudden use of cuss words and dark expression. Unconsciously they sat straighter, and answered with the only attitude that could soothe Lily on these kind of moments. Compliancy. Therefore they obediently waited for her to speak; even if that was minutes later, after she first enjoyed a few slow sips of the scotch her husband had adored so much.

"Sirius, I take it you are well educated in all kinds of stuff that tend to give you nightmares and leave you wondering what kind of whacko can even come up with such sick magic?"

Sirius gulped. Not knowing where her fierceness came from he slowly nodded. His parents had indeed taught him about a lot of things that he'd rather forget were possible.

"I take it you are familiar with the concept 'horcrux'?"

Sirius, whom just had been sipping from the fire whiskey that was indeed just as good as James had always claimed it would be, began to cough violently.

"Where have you learned about that kind of magic? Please don't speak of those in my presence ever again, of course they'll give you nightmares! What do you expect?!"

Remus' eyes widened. What was this about? He never heard of them while he prided himself in his vast amount of general knowledge on many different fields when it came to magic. Moreover, how did Lily know about them when Sirius reacted _that_ violently only to it's name? He looked at the both of them in wonder; but quickly paled at the unfamiliar hard, cold glance that rested upon Lily's face. Lily was an incredibly kind and gentle woman, but the expression that was harboring on _her_ face made him know they were talking about something that would, no doubt, make his stomach turn.

"I will not indulge you, Sirius. But do not fear, I shall answer your question. I learned about 'that kind of magic' when I saw it happening in front of my very own eyes, though I didn't know it's name at that point. Luckily Albus enlightened me. Apparently my memory 'washed all doubt away', and he told me that when the curse on Harry rebounded, Voldemort accidentally attached a part of _his_ soul to _my child_."

Lily looked briefly at the two glasses that fell simultaneously to the floor at her sentence-spoken-as-a-growl. She settled her gaze upon the faces of the two men and continued talking.

"Dear Albus did not neglect to tell me that he suspects Voldemort to have split his soul in seven pieces by now. Because Harry became a walking horcrux I should keep in mind that he could kidnap my son at any time in order for one or another obscure ritual to gain a body – or us both as revenge for being his downfall... Or to take his horcrux away and attach it somewhere safer, killing Harry in the process."

Ignoring Remus' silent tears Lily carried on.

"Albus made a speculation about _why_ it happened as it did. He thinks my pleading for Harry's life, the love for my child, invoked some of the most ancient, deep rooted and instinctive magic there is. Because it was the night of Samhain, it was easier to call upon that magic. He said that the equivalent exchange I demanded – a life for a life – goes back all the way to the time of Merlin."

Looking at the astounded expression on the faces of both men, she managed to produce a little smile.

"It is called a blood ward. Because I am his mother and we have the same blood running through our veins, Harry will forever be protected from Voldemort as long as I am near him. But if I would come to die, the only safe house he'll have is with my dear magic-hating sister Petunia. I cannot risk Harry going there in the case of my death, so I want you two to both perform a blood bonding ritual with me. Sirius, Remus, I beseech you: please become my brothers in blood."

Sirius gave a grim nod, but Remus looked sad.

"I'm a werewolf! Lycanthropy is transmittable by blood, you know it as well as I do. I'd turn you into a werewolf Lily. I wish I could become your brother in blood, but I will not do it at the cost of turning you into a werewolf in the process. I am sorry."

Lily gave a nod in acknowledgment.

"I guessed that much, but you are as much a family friend as Sirius is, Remus. It wouldn't be right not to ask you."

All Remus could manage to produce was a weak smile. Her kindness would never cease to amaze him. Lily smiled brightly back at him before her face regained the hard expression she had earlier, and addressed the two again.

"Yes, I told you guys my son has become a part of Voldemorts horcrux collection, I mentioned the blood ward and becoming my brothers in blood... Which leads me to the next issue, my blood status."

Sirius' look was priceless. He was completely flabbergasted.

"Lily, I thought you knew me better than that, you know I don't mind bringing a muggle-born into the house of Black. I'm not like my parents, I won't see it as 'defiling' our 'good' blood status. I was never fond of my pedigree. Besides, you are a Potter now, don't underestimate the Potter blood line. To be honest, I'm rather appalled you'd think I'd care about that stuff!"

Lily gave him a weak smile.

"Actually, it is rather the opposite. I kind of hoped I could take this to the grave, but I came to see the need of the advantages that come with my bloodline..." she closed her eyes, as if she sought courage to talk any further. With her eyes closed she recalled her tenth birthday, the moment her grandmother pulled her apart. She sighed, how could she possibly tell them?

"I think I'll just show the two of you my memory. Come, the pensive is in the drawing room."

...

_After her grandmother had pulled her into a hug she stepped back a bit and crouched down, hands not leaving Lily's shoulders._

"_Let me look at you, beautiful child."_

_Lily looked up at her grandmother, knowing something was off. Her grandmother was too emotional, she hadn't been like this when Petunia reached the age of ten. _

"_Lilium."_

_Her grandmother always called her by her Latin name. Just like she would call Petunia 'Solanaceae', rather than her English name. Grandmother always told them that there was power in words, especially the words of a dead language. If the two flowers of children would be called by their botanical name, reasoned their grandmother, eventually they would come to shine and bloom like their namesake. _

_Obviously Petunia had more problems with being called by her Latin name then Lily had. She resented being called Solanaceae. Petunia never wanted to be a soothing child. Lily, on the other hand, might have even liked it better than her English name. So she smiled at her grandmother._

"_Lilium, for ten years you have grown remarkably as a person. Your name embodies purity, and you live up to it, I commend you. You show kindness and compassion to those around you, and the magic in you shines brightly." Lily's eyes grew wide as she discovered and marveled about how her grandmother could possibly know that she had magic. _

"_Of course I know about your magic dear child, my mother wielded it just like you do now. It skipped a two generations, but it is purer than ever in you. I think you might grow up to be a wonderful and talented healer if you seek to do so." Her grandmother smiled kindly at her. _

"_You know, my mother was a recognized and revered seer. She would always know about fortunate, but also unfortunate events long before they would come to pass. She knew she would not have the fortune to bare the child of a man she loved, but she didn't love me any less for it. Even when I was born without any gift at all. But she told me that I would live to meet my granddaughter, a girl of purity."_

"_She prophesized that the great granddaughter from Morfin Gaunt – the man that took my mother against her will – would radiate purity so strong, that she would be able to bring back the good name snakes once had; if she wanted to of course. Dear Lilium, dear Pure child of mine, do not think that your future is set in stone. What she told me, what I tell you now, is one of the many paths that may come to pass. But there is no denying that you can converse with snakes – a talent from my father's side of the family – just like there is no denying that you are so pure that I wouldn't even be surprised if a unicorn managed to taint you."_

_Her grandmother reached in her pocket and took out a little jewelery box, and waited for Lily to open it. The child did so, and was immediately in love with the beautiful piece of silver jewelery inside. _

"_Dear Lilium, this is not just any charm bracelet. It is one of magic. And I shall explain you all the wonders of it. Pay attention, my dear Lilium. The first charm looks like a nice pearl stone, doesn't it? That is a remembrall; if you are forgetting something it'll turn into a ruby. I do hope this will stop you writing on your hands..."_

_With eyes big as saucers Lily nodded attentively. And her grandmother went on, explaining the marvels of her new charm bracelet. _

"_The charm next to it looks like a nice little silver trunk, doesn't it? A trunk full of books my mother thought you might need. I believe she put an envelope with instructions on top of it. If you unhook this charm from your bracelet and let a tiny bit of your magic flow into it, it'll turn into it's original size. If you want to shrink it back to it's original size you'll have to direct another bit of magic into it."_

"_Grandmother, what does that sapphire ball encased in silver next to the trunk do?"_

"_That, my dear child, is a memory reservoir. You can grow it larger just like the trunk and then you'll see the silver encasing is around where it can open up. You can place memories inside it. And once again; I do believe my mother left you a few memories. She spoke of some prophesies that might help you on your path. You can watch the memories using the pensive that hangs next to it. The same procedure if you want to enlarge it, and you simply drop the memory in the pensive, and stick your nose into it. Which leads us to the next one..."_

"_An emerald stone, it looks just like my eyes!"_

"_Exactly my child. As you can see it is encased just like the memory reservoir. You enlarge it the same way, and you'll find a magical first aid kit inside. I believe you'll find also a first aid guide of how to diagnose and treat minor magical misfortunes."_

"_So what does that thing next to the magical first aid kit?"_

"_That is purely a decorative charm. It is a symbol of lore. It is the symbol of the Peverell brothers. It's meaning is that you should not seek to boast around, get tangled up and twisted in your past. It is a symbol that reminds wizards and witches of the virtue called humility while living a life with dignity."_

"_Hmm, does that mean we've been all through the magical charms?"_

"_Oh no, my dear Lilium. We have one bead left. And this one is magical as well."_

"_So what can I do with it?" Lily eyed the last bead with great care. It looked very much like a pearl, but something was off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. _

"_You can't do anything with it, my dear Lilium. It is a protective charm."_

"_And how do I activate it?"_

"_That, my dear Lilium, is something you do not have to worry about. The bead is filled with the life energy of my mothers patronus. And whenever you will find yourself in the need of a patronus, it shall appear for you."_

_Lily eyed the wondrous charm bracelet with great care. _

"_Thank you for this special gift grandmother."_

"_You are most welcome, my dear. But this is a gift from your great grandmother. For I do not have the magic to contribute to it's abilities. It was her foresight that gave her the idea of making such a charm bracelet. But do understand, my dear Lilium, that this bracelet is very extraordinary and rare, even within the magical community." _

_After ensuring that Lily was still listening attentively, she explained further._

"_There is a chance this bracelet is even a one of a kind. Trunks like the one on your bracelet are very expensive, not to mention the idea of giving a pensive to a ten year old. It is rather unheard of, to be honest. Your great grandmother could have used all kinds of containers for the functions she had given the beads. But she chose to use two pearls, an emerald and a sapphire – purely an aesthetic choice. Your great grandmother meant to make this charm bracelet very dear, my lovely Lilium."_

_Lily looked at her grandmother, who's smile had become strained,__ as if she were grieving for something._

"_I cannot begin to phantom her motives as for why she wanted you to wear such a dear charm bracelet. If you wear this bracelet in the magical community, there will be no doubt of your pure bloodline, but you shall be questioned about your unknown parentage. You shall be ridiculed by those that will hear your grandmother was a squib, revered by the news that your great grandmother was a talented and known seer, and taunted or shunned when they find out your great grandfather was a Gaunt."_

_Lily looked shocked. Clearly she did not like the idea of all the possible commotion about a family gift she would very much like to wear. Lily's grandmother did not have to be a legilimens to see and understand what her granddaughter was thinking that very moment. _

"_My thoughts exactly, my dearest Lilium. Therefore I went to a magical jeweler to add my own present to this special bracelet. I could not carelessly add another bead because there were already seven – a magical number my dearest child – so I let them make a different, an enchanted, new clasp. The clasp is enchanted to make the whole charm bracelet very inconspicuous and non-magical looking to the eyes of everyone. A muggle will not notice the color change if your remembrall tells you you are forgetting something, the Peverell charm will look like a muggle religion charm, and nobody will be any wiser. Go through life and introduce yourself as if you were a muggleborn, my dearest Lilium. Do not make your life any more complicated than it will already be."_

_..._

When Sirius, Remus and Lily left the pensive, they were all looking in amazement up to the woman that had always hidden a very large part of herself. They sat themselves on the sofa, while Lily summoned the bottle and a few new glasses. The unbearably tense silence was finally broken when the animagus remembered how to use his voice.

"Did James know?"

"No Sirius, you two are the first that are told. I am a parseltongue, and a descant of from the very same family that megalomaniac lunatic claims to be the only heir of. My great grandfather was a Gaunt, part of the long forgotten glory, distant and vague family of the great Salazar Slytherin himself."

"By the time I got my Hogwarts letter I have already had that bracelet for a year, and I had seen enough memories and read enough books by then to know it would be far more easier for me to be just another muggleborn."

She sighed.

"Little did I know we'd have to deal with a discriminating murdering lunatic, rather than just a bit of racism... James got murdered because everybody is under the impression that I am a muggleborn."

While Remus dried the tears she hadn't realized she was silently crying, she struggled to keep her voice steady.

"My grandmother and I both thought that pretending to be completely new blood would spare me a lot of misery. But I have learned my lesson. Never underestimate the advise a seer gives you, no matter how cryptic or crazy it might sound. And let me get this straight: I might be born from snake blood, but let me assure you, I am a lioness. The sorting hat did not make me Gryffindor because my hair colors such a nice shade of red."

Lily sat a bit straighter and drunk a large portion of her glass fire whiskey. With her chin raised she addressed her friends again.

"She - my grandmother that is - thought that not using the name of that house, that bloodline, would spare me a lot of misery. But I feel compelled to confess this to you, my friends. Because I tend to use it all to it's fullest in order to prepare both my son and ourselves, I know the time is right. It is time I face the facts. My great grandfather was born in the remnants of the ancient house of Slytherin."

She swallowed.

"Considering the secret is out about me being a parselmouth, I am planning to exploit the uses of this talent in the most creative ways. A few deadly pet-snakes per example."

Remus laughed weakly.

"I can live with the green and the snakes you know, but I am not particularly fond of silver..."

Not only Lily, but also the shell shocked Sirius could laugh at that joke. Lily put a hand on the arm of the werewolf and gave an answer with a smile.

"You can't have missed that I've transfigured my bracelet into gold the minute I figured out your furry little problem?"

Sirius shook his head.

"You want me to become your brother in blood, tangling myself further up in the whole Slytherin family I'd like to disassociate myself with, so I can serve as a blood ward for Harry... And you are considering to employ snakes as his bodyguard? Anything else you would like to mention?"

When Lily nodded Sirius couldn't keep himself for groaning. Nevertheless, he would listen. This was the wife of his best friend, and they were discussing his godson's future. So he tried to make sure his thoughts would not drift off to the previous revelations when Lily spoke again.

"I also have reached the conclusion I cannot safely raise Harry in Great Britain. There are still Death Eaters on the loose, and a child is not allowed to have any magical education until the age of eleven. Never mind the fact that they see Harry as the new Messiah, it's completely ridiculous. I can't raise a child in a climate like this. Therefore, help me figure out where to go with Harry. I want to give him a far more extensive education than what is necessary to enroll Hogwarts."

The lioness smiled a feral smile.

"Voldemort didn't know what he was in for when he marked my son as his equal. I'll make that bastard regret even knowing I have a son!"


End file.
